UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Down 0.7%

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s stock price was down 0.7% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $580.73 and last traded at $584.75. Approximately 557,673 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 4,015,560 shares. The stock had previously closed at $589.14.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UNH. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $532.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $574.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $519.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.14 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aveo Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,164 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,139,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,273 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,250,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 80.9% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,220 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,275,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782 shares during the period. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 102.8% during the 4th quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 14,774 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,778,000 after purchasing an additional 7,489 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $668,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. The UnitedHealthcare segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services for national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; health care coverage, and health and well-being services to individuals age 50 and older addressing their needs; Medicaid plans, children's health insurance and health care programs; and health and dental benefits, and hospital and clinical services, as well as health care benefits products and services to state programs caring for the economically disadvantaged, medically underserved, and those without the benefit of employer-funded health care coverage.